Honey bees are thriving in Maryland. Based on information compiled by Stacker, using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state has eight-point-five-thousand colonies. That’s up 13 percent from 2021. Nationwide, colonies are down 22 percent year-over-year. It’s estimated honey bees contribute 15-billion dollars to the U.S. economy annually. More than a third of all crop species depend on honeybees for pollination.